Charming Fanka café brings the tasty treats of Lake Balaton to downtown Budapest

Close to the bustle of Gozsdu Udvar, an idyllic, romantic atmosphere surrounds Holló utca. It attracted Fanni, too, who decided to site her pretty little café here.

Fanni is connected to Budapest, but also tied to the southern shore of Lake Balaton by a thousand threads. Not only do some of the cheeses, hams and fruit come from Kötcse, but she also cooks the jams sold in the shop with her grandfather from the fruit of their garden there. 

The cake recipe stems partly from her own, partly from her grandmother’s family heritage, and her love of bagels comes from various American visits. You could say that the stock is organically connected to Fanni’s own life and tastes.

There are wines, too, the range concise and well-selected. As well as labels by Gábor Kardos in Mád, Géza Légli of Kislaki in Balatonboglár and Balázs Ludányi of Centurio in the Mátra, you’ll find a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and an affordable French crémant. Classic, big domestic names take second place to a narrow but unique choice put together by Zsolt Bajkai, owner of Ab Ovo Borkereskedés.

As for eats, the standard breakfast selection includes croissants (HUF 450-990), toasted sandwiches (HUF 1,090), baguettes (HUF 1,290) and bagels (HUF 1,490 to 1,790). To go with your glass of wine, there are also ham and cheese platters (HUF 2,490/4,890) for one or two people.

Recommended are the prosciutto-gorgonzola-and-dried-blueberry bagel (HUF 1,790), the quiche of spinach, goats’ cheese and bacon (HUF 890) and the chocolate cake (HUF 990) straight out of grandmother’s kitchen, in which ground almonds take the place of flour. The mascarpone cheesecake (HUF 990) merits a revisit alone.

All in all, Fanka is ideal for a tasty breakfast, a date or a girls’ get-together over wine.